In a lopsided final, the Polish star did not lose a single game against the 2019 Rome champion to wrap up the match in just 46 minutes.
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Iga Swiatek inflicted a double bagel scoreline on Karolina Pliskova to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final, which is also her second trophy of the year. The No.15 seed Swiatek destroyed the 2019 Rome champion 6-0, 6-0 in just 46 minutes. The Pole now picks up her third career title after winning the French Open last autumn and Adelaide in February. Moreover, the result ensures that she will break into the Top 10 for the first time on Monday.
This was the first-ever double bagel to decide the Rome title. “When my coach told me it was 6-0, 6-0, I was, like, Really? Isn’t that a mistake?” she said after the match. “When I was on the breaks, I was visualising that I’m starting that match from the beginning every time. Actually, I did that so well that I didn’t even know that it was 6-0 in the first set… The key is just to not to think about it and just, you know, play. Because when you’re gonna think about the score, you can actually ruin your mindset and ruin your attitude.”
Swiatek had never before managed a double bagel win at pro level, whereas for Pliskova, it is just the second time in her career that she has failed to win a game in a completed match. It was back in 2009 when she was a 17-year-old, Pliskova last endured this fate. “From the beginning I felt that she may be a little bit nervous,” said Swiatek. “I wanted to use that and actually play as many games with that vibe as I can.”
What a display ?
The moment @iga_swiatek capped off an unbelievable 46-minute victory over the 2019 Rome champion ?#IBI21 pic.twitter.com/qrWGTH3AUd
— wta (@WTA) May 16, 2021
“That’s why it was pretty fast at the beginning. I saw that, because I thought her movement wasn’t really good, but I also had in my mind that she’s gonna start in a minute feeling better and being in a rhythm. So I wasn’t really focusing on that.”
Meanwhile, Pliskova credited Swiatek for producing a scintillating performance in the final. “I think she had amazing day and I had horrible day,” said Pliskova. “That’s one of those combinations which I guess can happen. I just was feeling horrible out there today. That’s one of those days. But I think she really made it extremely difficult for me to do any point and to play anything from my game. She was playing super fast. I thought she was just going for it.”
“I had a couple, just a couple, of good shots, and I think she can just redirect so well and she can play even faster, and especially on clay. Because she has so much spin, I think it’s super tough to do something from it. Especially today she had amazing placement of the ball. Everything was super deep and just close to the lines.”
